Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-09-24

the untoward crawling of spider across
the road, Or the scattered fight of some
birds-these are all signs OF evil forebod-
ing. The flight of birds is still as carefully
observed by the Persians as it once was bv
the Roman augurs, and if a crow should
happen to fly across his path when leaving
his palace, the Shah will Immediately
turn back. 1t is the same with his gran
dees, even with most of the few Persians
who have spent some years in European
capitals. But the most common form of
superstition is the "evil eye" The Persian
word forGt is baade khadem, which literally
means bad step" This thing is carried
to 4 ridiculous extent. 4 baby is healthy
and pretty. A friend of the mother
admires the little one in glowing terms.
That would be bdada Khadea--of even
omen-and would be looked upon as dia-
bolical design to injure the child if the
phrase Eeashallah (may it please God
were not added to every eulogillm. An
old woman lloks at the child from the
right-hand side-evil eye again. The
father, By accident, speaks first to the baby
at sunrise-evil eye. \ girl, pretty, we'll
hammered, healthy, with Il good dowrv, is
welded to a man. The first business I'M
dertaking of the young Benedict turns out
disastrously Evil eve. Nothing could
induce that man to keep his young wife
She is baada khadem to him. and she's got
to 90, willy nilly. As the divorce law is
such that it virtually lies with the hus-
band alone to keep or send away his wife
and as the ceremony itself is very simple
and requires neither money nor time, he
soon gets rid of her. Nobody blames him
:" She was baada Khddem to him." every
body says in explanation, and that's
enough.
Amulets are worn by nearly everybody
to avert the evil eye, and to attract good
| luck These amulets are of ali shapes
| and substances. The Weather ladies, for
instance, wear gold bracelets, neck chains,
and anklets, often of very artistic work
manship, containing In sealed-up cavity
verses from the Koran, made especially
powerful by the blessings of some imdlua
or pious dervish. Little mother-of-pearl
/ tablets. of octagonal or oval shape
and often set in turquoises, are
worn around the neck for the same pur-
pose. They generally contain, in delicately
engraved characters, some Arabic incanta.
tons to the higher powers to protect the
wearer against the lower ones. Poor women
will often content themselves with a string
around their neclls, TO which may be tied /;
strong talisman in the shape of snake.
tooth, a leopard's tongue, hyena's TUT o.
hair, sometimes inclosed in small locket
of brass or silver. Similar "charns" are
the tinger-i joints of ew-born babies, dropo
blood from executed criminal, or an eye
from the body Of an old woman who dice
in childbirth. Superstitions of this peculiar
kind are practically innumerable, Thu
shells, parts of the hyena or hare two ami
mails thought to be especially haelei, that is
unclcan), and tho fruits of the dnacdrdim
are worn rs amulets to secure the love of {
husband, win the affection of a lover, OF
turn in her direction the preference hither
to shown for rival. Lard, = very rare
substance in Persia, as no hogs are raised
for religious reasons, when applied una
wares by woman to any part Of the body
of a rival in her lords heart, is believed t.
prevent child-bearing. - Wolf Won Schu'
brand IN Cosmopolitan.